Photo provided

Harp found out that corn is not only good on the cob but on popsicles as well.

Harp and 12 other Purdue faculty and students paid for their flight, meals and incidentals (souvenirs) in exchange for housing and the opportunity to work at the Olympic Games.

There was plenty of time to collect some great pottery for her apartment and see a part of the world she may never get to see again.

Harp ate some food that may have been beef, but it could have been dog or donkey. “You just don’t ask,” Harp says, “because you really don’t want to know.”

And she made a lifetime of memories. Here are some of her observations:

• I spent more time washing my clothes than I

spent wearing them.

• A horn was always honking.

• Meals that cost less than a dollar were the norm.

• “Nearby” meant a 40-minute subway ride, minimum.

• I rediscovered books, as they were the only English entertainment.

• I never got used to being stared at constantly, and I will remember how that felt

next time I am tempted to do the same.

• Bread had sugar in it, and eggs were black.

• We washed our hair in the sink because an unidentified brown sludge randomly

oozed from our showerhead.

• Cramming yourself onto the train was typical, and sprinting at the transfer station

was essential to assure a seat on the next train.

• Vendors trying to sell us knockoff handbags or pearl necklaces tried to flatter

us by calling us pretty ladies.

• We learned to communicate with cab drivers without speaking a word of the

same language by using hand signs, like a game of charades.

• Lime and blueberry were flavors of potato chips.

• Finding cheese felt like winning the lottery.

• I found out that corn is not only good on the cob but on popsicles as well.

• Friendships blossomed and preconceived notions disappeared.

• I was inspired by the people but enraged by their system, and it became

the most unsettling paradox I’ve ever experienced.

• There was a woman with a pet duck who took it for a walk every morning

around the campus of our university.

• The babies had crotchless pants and were free to do their business wherever

they pleased.

• I was both more proud and more embarrassed of my country than I had ever

been in my life, all in one day.

• The continual struggle to do simple tasks taught me the true value of patience.

I mean, do we really need 10 waiters for each table at dinner?

• I realized that it’s easy to get by without the little things in life if you know you

have Western plumbing to go home to.

• Wrinkled clothes became common. Without a dryer and an iron, you hope

wrinkles will come out while the clothes are on hangers. Mostly, they don’t.

• Watching television wasn’t common. Only one station wasn’t broadcast in

Chinese, so killing time by watching TV wasn’t an option.

• I realized I take A LOT of amenities I have for granted — clean bathrooms and

soft beds come to mind — and I hope I never will again.

• I was a minority.

• I realized for all its problems, the U.S. is a pretty great country.

• Getting your picture taken by someone with a camera phone was as common

as a cold.

• Random people would try to practice their English with us.

• People would spit on the ground, anytime, anyplace.

• “No Smoking” never meant no smoking.

• We were the “loud Americans” everywhere we went. The Chinese are

very quiet.

• We ate many, many meals not knowing what we were eating, but I never got

to sample scorpions-on-a-stick, centipedes or silkworms.

• The bicycles were more dangerous than the buses.

• A lukewarm shower was exciting, even if it took 10 minutes for the water

to warm up.

• I found out that from China to America, Chinese food got lost in translation.

• Tourists/foreigners asked us for directions and, eventually, we could actually

help them out.

• We got our picture taken everywhere we went, even when sleeping

on the subway.

• An hour-long massage was cheaper than a drink and sandwich at Starbucks.

• I think I consumed my body weight in white rice.

• I made friends from all over the world that I know will last a lifetime.

To read Harp’s Beijing blog, go to http://onthedownlomein.blogspot.com